Day of panic in Gaza vicinity communities: In spite of IDF's presence inside Strip, Red Dawn alert system constantly activated. At least ten rockets hit southern town area since Friday morning; three residents wounded by shrapnel, rushed to hospital

Shmulik Hadad|Published: 07.07.06 , 14:17

Those who hoped that the military operation inside the Gaza Strip will bring some peace and quiet to Sderot were proven wrong: At least ten rockets were fired since Friday morning at the southern town area, constantly activating the Red Dawn alert system.

One of the rockets hit a potatoe factory near the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council. The factory suffered damage and one of its workers was lightly wounded.

Another rocket landed in Kibbutz Saad and the rest fell in Sderot itself.

Three residents were hurt by the rockets' shrapnel. They were treated by a Magen David Adom emergency team and were evacuated to the Barzilay Medical Center in Ashkelon.

Qassam landing site (Photo: Nir Vaknin)

The rockets were seen by the town's spokesman Yossi Pinchas Cohen, who is usually in charge of reporting about the rocket fire. This time he was forced to deal with a threat on his private home.

"The rocket landed right next to my house, at a basketball field near the new community center," the spokesman said. "There was great fear in my house, the children began crying and everyone panicked. Lots of people also gathered outside, and there is a great commotion here in the city."

Panic erupted in almost all the Qassam falling sites and many residents gathered in the area, protesting the ongoing fire since Thursday evening.

One rocket fell next to a bus station.

"The Qassam hit right next to the station, and half a minute later a bus arrived there to collect passengers," an eyewitness said. "If it had been one minute earlier, it would have been hit and it would have definitely been a great disaster."